


Strawberry milk

by carouxlin



Series: GOT7 Hogwart AU [1]
Category: GOT7
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Getting Together, Gryffindor Mark, Gryffindor Yugyeom, Hufflepuff Jackson, M/M, Slytherin Jaebeom, Soft Im Jaebum | JB, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, hufflepuff youngjae, just got7 loving each other, maknae line are the best of friends, ravenclaw jinyoung, side Yugbam, slytherin bambam
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-09
Updated: 2018-10-09
Packaged: 2019-07-28 17:05:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16246046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carouxlin/pseuds/carouxlin
Summary: All Youngjae wanted was to succeed his 5th year at Hogwart, pass his OWL’s to get the NEWT-level courses he wanted and be able to start the career he desired. He didn’t plan half of what happened this year and especially to recognize the familiar scent of books and of strawberry milk, when Mark made him smell the Amortentia. He suddenly doesn’t know how to act anymore, but really, Youngjae should have seen that coming.





	Strawberry milk

The image of Hogwart started to be really familiar as years passed. It was the fifth years at the Magical School and it didn’t quite feel the same as the first time he saw that view. Back then, Youngjae was barely a lost muggle born boy, who discovered a few weeks prior he wouldn’t go to middle school like any other student of his age, but he would integrate Hogwart. Everything was so much more impressive as he learnt about magic and this new world. Now, Hogwart felt a little more like home, a place he spent most of his year, having ups and downs, with his second family

"I can’t believe McGonagall and Slughorn made me a prefect."

Youngjae couldn’t stop a laugh from escaping him. To his right, his first wizard friend, and now actual best friend, couldn’t believe the news he got on the train, a few hours prior:

"I mean, who in their right minds makes me a prefect?"

"Have you finally thought about the speech you’re going to give to the first years after the banquet?"

"Oh my God, no, I totally forgot."

Youngjae knew it was wrong to laugh so freely about his best friend’s distress but really, Bambam looked for it. Right on his other side, Yugyeom was laughing too, delighted by the situation:

"Of all people? Why me?"

Bambam, Youngjae and Yugyeom, were three friends of the same age. Bambam and Youngjae had met on the Hogwart Express, the very first day, as the muggle born was sitting alone and the pure blood decided he had a nice face and seemed decent enough to make the trip together. Ever since that day, and despite the fact the two boys joined two different houses, they became the best of friends. Yugyeom technically only joined in second year, after a particular lecture of charms he shared with Bambam. By the time third year came, the trio was inseparable. To pretty much everyone’s dismay, as it seemed everything pulled the three boys apart.

Firstly, they were in three different houses: Bambam was a proud but a little bit lazy Slytherin (making a few people asking themselves why he joined this particular house and not Gryffindor), Youngjae was a hardworking and curious Hufflepuff and Yugyeom was a brave and friendly Gryffindor. Secondly they came from very different homes. Bambam was pure blood, coming from a ancient noble Thai family. His mother was working at the Ministry, she had a powerful position, she was rich and his family barely interacted with Muggles, even though they weren’t hostile against them. Yugyeom was a Half blood, his mother being a witch and his father a muggle. He knew of the magic world since birth and couldn’t wait for his Hogwart letter. He also liked a lot the muggle world and was always happy to go back home on holiday to his family and muggle friends he made before entering Hogwart. And Youngjae, well he was a pure Muggle born of Korean ascent like Yugyeom,  that knew nothing of magic and discovered everything about this new world the first two to three years. Now, he considered himself well blended in and only a few things could amaze him the same way he was amazed the first few years:

"You’ll be just fine Bam. If Jinyoung managed, you can", Yugyeom finally reassured his friend.

Jinyoung was one of their older friends. Somewhere along the way, the three boys met people from their houses, and befriended them. For Youngjae’s case, it was Hong Kong's native, overly sociable and dynamic, Jackson Wang, a year older. Youngjae liked Jackson a lot, because he was of Asian ascent, like him, and a muggle born, like him. The two of them had spent entire nights snuggled together in Hufflepuff common room, talking about magic and Muggle subjects. If Youngjae hadn’t already had Bambam, Jackson would probably be his best friend. He was an amazing friend and confidant, and more than once, a great advisor to Youngjae. They had a brotherly relationship, probably the strongest in their little group of friend (if it wasn’t for Jinyoung and Jaebeom). 

Yugyeom was himself really close to Gryffindor Quidditch’ prodige and now Captain: Mark Tuan. They met in the middle of Mark’s second year, as Yugyeom really admired him, at every match. He soon became Mark’s little protegé and got into the Quidditch team the next year. Mark was also a close friend to Jackson, sharing a few lecture with the Hufflepuff and of Jaebeom and Jinyoung, having meeting them on their first night, right before the sorting ceremony. Mark was just a shy kid back them, with problems of sociabilisation in such a unfamiliar place. He had barely moved from LA to London in the summer before his eleventh birthday when he got the letter. He had no idea of what to expect from the British School for wizards and felt out of place. But he soon found his marks, thank to Jackson mostly and also, Jaebeom and Jinyoung.

Jaebeom and Jinyoung seemed to come as a pair. They were the two of the group that knew each other's for the longest time: being childhood friends helping a lot. They were pure blood that grew up together, their families being close friend. When the time came for them to have a magical education, they were sorted in two different Houses. Jinyoung joined Ravenclaw for his reliable personality and Jaebeom joined Slytherin for his ambition. Jinyoung connected with Mark and Jackson almost immediately, but it took Bambam to coax Jaebeom out of his shell. The younger admired him a lot, and more or less blackmailed him into talking to him and his friends. In the end, Jaebeom didn’t regret it, as he had found great friends in their little group of seven students. By the time third years came for Bambam, Yugyeom and Youngjae, their group was inseparable, and it was really unlikely to see one alone and not accompanied by one or two of them:

"Men, speaking about Jinyoung I can’t wait to see them again! I feel like I haven’t seen Mark, Jaebeom and him in yeeeaars."

If Bambam, Youngjae and Yugyeom spent most of their summers together, except for the two weeks they went back to Thailand/Korea with their families, Bambam didn’t particularly see his older friends. It wasn’t the case for Yugyeom and Youngjae, who, when they weren’t with Bambam, spent their time at Jackson/Mark’s house:

"Mark said he didn’t miss you", laughed Yugyeom.

"He’s a liar", retorted Bambam. "He missed me the most I bet."

"I can’t wait to see Jaebeom and Jinyoung too. I barely saw them at the getaway we had at the beginning of the summer."

The two childhood friends came from much stricter families. If Bambam’s family didn’t mind having Muggle born children running around the house with their son, their families had more difficulties with having their pure blood sons in the 100% muggle environnement that was the Wang’s or Choi’s homes. So they could barely visit during the holiday. And during the whole duration of the summer, the only way they had of communication was by letters, Jinyoung and Jaebeom clearly ignoring the existence of phones and Internet, on the contrary to Mark, Yugyeom, Youngjae and even now Bambam:

"I can’t wait to see Jinyoung’s face when he’ll learn you are a prefect", said Yugyeom, excited.

"Stop reminding me of that."

"Who is the second prefect by the way?" suddenly asked Youngjae.

"Ugh I don’t know, that white girl with us in Potion I guess. I can’t remember her name for the love of me."

"Anna?"

"Yeah I guess. She’s nice. Shy but nice. We really are the worse duo of prefect ever. I’m reckless and she has social anxiety. I don’t know what came to McGonagall’s head."

"Think about freshly arrived Ravenclaw, eager to discover Hogwart and who will have to face Jinyoung tonight."

"Suddenly I’m feeling so much better. It helped me relativise, thanks a lot Yugyeom."

The three friends ended up laughing together until they reached the doors of the Great hall, separating to join their houses’ tables. There, Youngjae reunited with Jackson and both spent the banquet eating as if they hadn’t had a proper meal in two months, and scaring some first years with stories about ghosts. That night, Youngjae found sleep in the comfort of his bed, with a pleasant feeling in his guts: he simply felt at home. But somehow, the crimpeling feeling of anxiety didn’t let go of him neither, and he knew he was in for a ride, as he began his fifth year at Hogwart.

 

*

 

"He is looking at you, I am telling you."

"Don’t be stupid!"

Youngjae, plume and books under his arm, went through the yard in order to reach the first floor of Hogwart and, thus the bibliotheque. There, he would joined Jaebeom and the two boys would spent the afternoon here, helping each other in their studies. Right before the massive doors, the older Slytherin was waiting for him, with the same amount of books in his arms, and a bored expression of his face. Expression that changed for a smile when he spotted Youngjae:

"He can’t be looking at me."

Just a few meters away, sitting on a bench, two third years from Slytherin and Ravenclaw were chatting, rather loudly, the Hufflepuff would say:

"Did you actually talk to him last night, in the common room?"

"I couldn’t manage to do so. Bambam was with him the whole time and he is loud and intimidating."

"Even more than Jaebeom?"

Ok, Youngjae had not meant to evedrops, but the name of his friend in those girls mouths sparkled something inside of him, and maybe he walked slower to catch the end of their conversation:

"He can’t be looking at me like that, he doesn’t even know me."

Youngjae fully knew Jaebeom didn’t look at them in any interested way because, the older Slytherin wasn’t interested in girls and that was a fact the whole group knew for two years. Then, who was he looking at?

"Choi Youngjae! You are late."

"Sorry Jaebeomie, I was held back by Yugyeom and Bambam, at the end of the potion lecture."

"Uhm… I’m not sure I’m ready to forgive you yet, Choi Youngjae."

"Well, you’ll have to, because I will be your sole company for the afternoon. Unless Jinyoung joins us."

"He’ll probably drop by at the end of the day, before dinner."

"Let’s go Lim Jaebeom, a whole book on silencing charms is waiting for me to study it."

"Well, you go first Choi Youngjae."

There was something familiar and reassuring in the bibliotheque. Something that simply put Youngjae at ease. Whenever he found himself in this big room, it’s like his body got rid of all the tension and he could finally study away from any stress (that includes every factor, from his anxiety to Yugyeom and Bambam’s loud mouths). For every year-end’s exam, he would spent hours in this room, to get his head clear and ready for every tests. Youngjae wasn’t a Hufflepuff for nothing. He was the true definition of hardworking. And he wasn’t the only one.

Whenever Youngjae lifted up his head from his books and notes, he would find Jaebeom, either inside his own study, or looking at him with a gentle look. During those times, they shared little to no words: everything passed through gentle glances exchange. They could hear the “don’t worry, you’ve got this” and “nothing is out of your reach”. When they talked, it was mainly about stuff Youngjae had difficulties to grasp, and if Jaebeom understood and remembered it, he would help the younger. 

Here, in the bibliotheque, between two rows of shelfs full of books, Youngjae felt at ease. The smell of new and old books mixing with Jaebeom’s cologne, to create a scent of peace in his mind. And when he would leave his books to admire the older twin moles for a few second, his heart would miss a beat. And when the owner of those twin moles would smile at him in such a way his eyes disappeared, it’s out of breath that Youngjae finds himself. And really, there is no better place at Hogwart. 

 

*

 

It’s in the middle of fall, when the vegetation in the surrounding area starts to takes the colors Youngjae likes so much, that Quidditch season starts again. The opening match will see the two finalists of last year’s tournament, being Gryffindor against Ravenclaw. Youngjae sits comfortably in the stands, enveloped in his big yellow scarf, as the wind is getting colder. On his right, Bambam is bickering with Jackson as to who will win their yearly bet. Of course, both had a bet on their respective houses, and Jackson was adamant that, this year, Hufflepuff will be the great Champion. Bambam, on the other hand, didn’t let go of his choice. It will be Slytherin, or, in worst case, Gryffindor:

"Tell him how our team improved this year!"

Youngjae was suddenly dragged into the debate by Jackson, and was now watched closely by his two friends. Sure, it wasn’t rare for him to find himself on the stands when his House’s team was training but he didn’t know what to answer as of now:

"Well, I think now that the captain gave you the first chaser poste, Hufflepuff will do better this year yes."

"Ah, you see!"

"Maybe you’ll be better than last year, but it won’t be enough to beat Mark and Yugyeom. I’m speaking it into existence Jackson, if it isn’t Slytherin this year, it will be Gryffindor."

Last year, Ravenclaw won the tournament, to Jinyoung’s pride, and while he celebrated the victory of his House, the rest of the groupe had to attend Mark and Yugyeom mood that severely dropped. They wouldn’t admit it now, but they were sore losers back then, and Bambam nearly received a book on his face after his last remark, that balanced Mark from an upset mood to an angry mood.

Youngjae kind of wished Jinyoung would be here and not in the stand with Ravenclaw, to help keeping Bambam and Jackson at bay. But the raven haired male was encouraging his team away from any “competition nuisance”:

"What are you guys talking about again?"

"Jaebeom! Tell him that Slytherin will be victorious again!"

The older rolled his eyes while taking the sit next to Youngjae:

"We say that every year, and apart from the years we win, we are always wrong."

"But…"

"I feel like Mark is really determined to win this year so I wouldn’t bet everything on Slytherin. Sorry Bambam."

"But Hufflepuff won’t be the winners."

"If not this year, we will be the next one."

Youngjae let out a chuckle at his friends’ antics while things started to move on the field. The match was about to begin:

"I got you this, Jae."

It was since second year that Jaebeom and Youngjae watched Quidditch matches together, their teams playing or not. And every time, Jaebeom never failed to bring strawberry milk. The Muggle born had given some to his pureblood friend a few weeks after they became friends, and after tasting it, Jaebeom became addicted. It was now the only muggle produced food his parents allowed home (mainly because he really fought them to buy some, so much his mum even learned how to do it):

"Thanks Jaebeom."

"Are you excited for this match?"

"I can’t wait for Mark and Yugyeom to show their talent. I kind of feel bad for Jinyoung, but I’m completely rooting for Gryffindor."

"Yeah, me too."

As the bickering started again on his right, Youngjae quietly enjoyed his strawberry milk with Jaebeom’s company, their bodies so close, their shoulders were pressed against each others. They spent the rest of the match cheering loudly for their friends, screaming at every goals of Gryffindor, and roaring with the house when Yugyeom caught the Golden Snitch at the very end. The four friends jump from their sit, holding each other’s hands while screaming at the top of their lungs, Yugyeom even taking the opportunity to maybe brag a little bit at height of Jinyoung in his stand. When the excitement of the match wore off, Jackson and Bambam kept joking about Jinyoung disappointed face and all the reflections the Ravenclaw will face for at least the next two weeks. Youngjae walked comfortably behind them, Jaebeom still on his left. He didn’t even notice he hadn’t let go of the older hand until they reached the castle and had to part to their respective dorms. 

 

*

 

In the beginning of winter, the only thing that kept the students going was the perspective of going to Hogsmeade. November rolled by, the vegetation losing all the colors Youngjae liked so much, and the cold became more and more bitter, forcing students to seek refuge inside the comfort of their dorms. It was the time of the year Youngjae spent the most with Jackson, seeing the other ones only when he felt like going out of the common room. Bambam always had some resentments against that, for the first two weeks of Youngjae’s hibernation state. Until the day out at Hogsmeade, where the Hufflepuff would buy lots of sweets from HoneyDukes for his two closest friends:

"I don’t feel like going out anymore. Can’t we stay here until it’s time to go back to Hogwart?", whined Yugyeom, his head sunk inside his scarf.

"Nonsens Yugy, we are joining the rest of the gang at Three Broomsticks. We’ll drink a good Butterbeer and you’ll feel warmer." Visibly Bambam didn't care about it.

The bigger one of the trio mumbled something inside his scarf and the Thai boy decided to ignore it:

"Thank you again Jae, for the treat, Bambam finally said when they left the store for the cold street."

"Your welcome Bam."

"What are you guys doing for Christmas break by the way?"

"I'm going back to Thailand. Mom's been complaining about the weather like usual", answered Bambam.

"Oh cool!"

"Yeah, she wasn’t sure she’ll be able to do so, because of work and everything but she managed to get some leaves. What about you guys?"

"Jackson’s family invited mine over for the 24th, Youngjae answered. I think we’re going to stay for the whole week end in the end. And well… we have New Year’s Eve at Mark like every year."

"I wish I could stay for that though."

Once they reached the Tavern, they found their group of friends, sitting at a table in a corner and already enjoying a drink. They talked loudly, and when the youngers ones met them, they could hear a discussion about Firewhisky. Apparently, as it was the first year they could buy it, Mark and Jackson had drunk some, and now were a little bit tipsy, clearly not used to magic alcohol:

"Youngjae, my dear Youngjae! Come sit next to your favourite brother."

The first concerned rolled his eyes but listened to his friend and sat next to him. As soon as his bottom hit the wood of the chair, Jackson had one arm around his waist and his head on the younger’s shoulder:

"You are always so comfortable Youngjae."

"Jackson… will I have to carry you into our dorms? Like that one night this summer?"

"Look at you, being comfortable and a good human being. I wish everyone could be a Youngjae."

Bambam laughed loudly at Jackson’s antics:

"I heard you couldn’t handle Muggle alcohol Jacks. What made you believe you could handle the magic ones? Who lied to you?"

"Shut up you viper. You are clearly not a Youngjae."

Conversation went from everyone being a Youngjae to some lectures they had and soon, Mark half screamed while reaching for something in his coat:

"I nearly forgot! I did some potions in well… advanced potion and Slughorn spoke about this particular one… and I got curious I guess so I made some last Saturday and…"

"What is it Mark?"

"Amortentia!"

He placed a small flask on the table, to everyone’s curiosity:

"I heard about that."

Jaebeom seemed perplex. Around the table, Mark was the only one that joined potion as his Owls, wanting to be an Auror. But this name was familiar:

"Wait Mark, are you telling me you made and brought the strongest love filter ever? Why would Slughorn even tell you about it?", Jinyoung seemed pretty angry with his friend action.

"The strongest love filter ever?", asked Bambam, interested now.

"It better not be for use Mark."

"I’m pretty sure this doesn’t count as consent if you want to use it Mark", added Yugyeom.

"Of course it’s not for use, who do you think I am? Anyways, I made some and brought some because… well it has some interesting properties."

"Like what?"

"The smell… the smell of this potion is actually the smell of the person you are attracted to."

"Really?"

"Yes! Slughorn made a girl smell it, and she became a blushing mess in one inhale. Apparently it smelled exactly like her Muggle friend or something but anyways."

"And what was the purpose of bringing this?"

"I don’t know. I found it quite funny. I mean… I tried smelling it but as I really don’t have interest in anyone at the moment, the scent was just neutral. But it could be fun for you guys. There Bambam, try it."

"Alright. Got nothing to lose. As long as it doesn’t make me fall in love with you Tuan."

"That is a bother I wouldn’t want to burden myself with."

Bambam took the flask in his own hand and inhaled one long time. The table became silent, waiting for his reaction:

"Predictable."

Youngjae had a smug smile at his friend’s remark, knowing already what the smell was, more or less:

"So… does it smell anything?"

"It smells like chocolate and late hours dew."

The table became silent again, only one person tensing at Bambam’s words:

"Does late hours dew even smell anything?", asked Jackson, breaking the awkward silence.

"Who could that be, I am asking myself."

"Shut up Jae. There try it and see if you can still act cocky."

"I’m pretty confident the smell will stay neutral. Does it have any particular smell when you don’t have a crush, Mark?"

"It’s up to you to find out."

Everyone watched the flask being passed from the Slytherin to the smug Hufflepuff. Youngjae took it between both his hands, inhaling slowly above it:

"It smells like… an old… no… well, it’s an old book at a moment and a new at the other…", he analyzed the smell not sure where this led him.

"And the second smell?", Jackson seemed quite eager, just like the rest of the table.

Youngjae inhaled a second time and when the sweet smell of strawberry milk invaded his nostrils, he held his breath and felt a warm sensation in his cheeks. He closed his eyes and inhaled once more, the scent of strawberry milk being even stronger this time. Slightly panicked, his shaking hands made the flask fall onto the ground, the Amortentia lost and the scent of books mixed with strawberry milk invading his nostrils. Bambam and Jackson got up to not get some on their shoes, and Yugyeom asked Youngjae if he was ok:

"… I need… I have to go, sorry Mark for your potion."

Before anyone could even protest that, Youngjae was up and out of the Tavern. Not really understanding everything that happened, the friends stayed in complete silence, until someone finally talked:

"What the fuck just happened?"

"I spent hours getting this potion ready."

Bambam didn’t mind his other friends, still looking at the way his best friend took to go out of the Tavern. Without saying a word, he followed the same path, determined to not let Youngjae alone in this situation:

"… Guys… I think Bambam smelt something that reminds him of me", Yugyeom bluntly said.

"Well shit Yugyeom this is some surprising news", Jackson exclaimed.

"Be nice to him Jacks, the kid is obvious to most signal he has received so far", Jinyoung mocked their younger friend.

"At least Mark’s plan work for someone. Not the other one though", finally said Jackson.

"What plan?"

The whole table rolled their eyes, Mark included even if he still hadn’t process that those hours of hard work had ended on the floor:

"So Jaebeom… what do you smell from the Amortentia?"

"Shut the fuck up Jinyoung."

Mark and Jackson exchanged a laugh at Jaebeom’s expense, while Jinyoung looked at him with his smug face:

"You have a crush?", asked Yugyeom, clearly lost.

"My little Yugy…"

"Little, little, he is taller than you, Jacks."

"Let me tell you more about life, will you", Jackson added, completely ignoring Mark’s remark about his height.

 

Youngjae was walking as fast as he could on the snowy street, not really sure about where he was headed. He was thinking so much and so loudly he didn’t even hear the voice that was calling for him, Bambam closely behind him trying to reach him:

"JAE! PLEASE JAE WAIT FOR ME! COME ON DON’T BE LIKE THAT!"

When his friend’s voice finally reached his hears, Youngjae stopped, kind of relieved someone went after him. And even more that it was Bambam:

"Come one dude, you can’t just bail on me like that. Any of them ok, but me. I’m kind of vexed you know."

"Sorry Bam…"

"It’s okay, though, I understand. Can I ask what the second smell was? I mean… I less or more already guessed who it makes you think of, especially from your reaction but…"

"Please, don’t believe it’s Jackson."

"Why in the world, would I believe it’s Jackson when the first scent was of books? If you had said of fresh cut green from the field, or of wet dogs, I could have a doubt but books?"

"Jackson doesn’t smell like wet dogs."

"Have you ever been near to him after a Quidditch training? The dude reeks."

"Stop insulting him like that."

"What would you even believe I thought it was Jackson anyways, Jae?"

"I don’t know… we spent most of our time together. After you and Yugy, he’s the closest to me… we are both Hufflepuff Muggle Born, I pushed him away the moment I started to smell the potion… oh my God what if he believes it’s him? Now I can’t face two of my friends."

"You’re overthinking and overreacting again Jae."

"Sorry."

"So… what was that second smell."

"Strawberry milk."

"Well, yes, that’s obvious now you say it."

"How am I going to face him now Bam?"

"Stop worrying too much right now… you’re not going to change your behavior in front of him."

"Why would I not? The potion literally said I’m in love with him."

"Well, Jae…", Bambam bore a cocky smile on his lips. "First of all, the potion didn’t say anything. Second of all, if it had said anything, it would most probably be just “you like him very much, open your eyes” not “you’re in love with him your fucking idiot” even though, I must admit that’s what I would have said if I was the potion…"

"I’ve always been in love with him."

Reality hitted Youngjae like a truck. The small loving and natural gestures they started to exchange last year, the heart stopping and breathtaking smiles they shared, the laughed, the cries, the worry, the holding hands until we have to let go. Every signs were here, he should have seen that coming:

"Yugyeom and I have bets on the both of you since April. When your started to talk about him even more than before. Jinyoung told us he was suspicious too. You both are not very good at hiding it, aware of it or not."

"Speaking about Yugyeom…"

"Don’t change the subject Choi Youngjae."

"You just bluntly said the potion smelt like chocolate and late hours dew. Wow."

"Why would I not? That is exactly what it smelt."

"I think you just shook him."

"Listen Jae, I know Yugyeom and I are meant to be. I’m pretty sure by now, we are soulmates. I’m not afraid of him finding out that I love him. I know he is obvious and if dropping hints here and there is what takes him to realize we complete each other in more ways than one, then fine, I’ll do just that."

"Maybe it was the triggering moment. I mean, did you look at his face?"

"I think it was Mark’s plan since the beginning. But anyways, back to you! You and Lim Jaebeom."

"I don’t know if I have your guts Bambam. I’m too afraid to be rejected."

"Maybe Yugyeom is obvious but you, my friend, are just plainly blind."

"Would you give me a break Bam? I just realized I was in love with one of my closest friend, and you are here, humoring me instead of cheering me up."

"Alright alright, I’ll just encourage you to pin for him from afar for now. But when you two will get married and adopt lots of cats and dogs, don’t come at me and tell me “I should have listened to you and ask him out sooner, Bam”."

"You idiot."

Youngjae pushed Bambam away while laughing. Under the shock, the Thai boy nearly fell into the snow, causing a louder snort of laughter to escape his best friend:

"Stop laughing at me and let’s make our way back to Hogwart. I’m freezing right now ‘cause I forgot my scarf at the Three Broomsticks. I hope one of those morons brought it back with them because my Mom sure as hell won’t let me buy another one. It’s the third I’d lose since October."

Arm in arm, the two friends made their way back to the Castle, Youngjae pondering the idea of asking Jaebeom out, balancing the pros and the cons, and coming to a conclusion along the way.

 

*

 

Maybe Lim Jaebeom, a pure blood coming from a Korean family, was pining after Choi Youngjae, a Muggle Born of Korean ascent, since his fourth year now. It was a clear possibility that was eating him inside ever since he realized that maybe Youngjae’s laugh made him a little bit warmer than he should be, that Youngjae’s presence by his side made him a little lighter than he should be, and it had been officially establish when Jinyoung had finally understood what was going on inside his childhood friend’s head when he could spend hours in a old bibliotheque with Youngjae and his books as his sole company. It has been more than a year now, that he realized his true feeling for his younger friend, and the situation hadn’t change, unfortunately. In the Hogwart express taking them back for their sixth year at Hogwart, Jaebeom was looking at the window, perfectly knowing Youngjae was probably sharing a lot of snacks and sweets with Bambam and Yugyeom laughing his heart out while sharing precious memories of the summer they had just spent mostly together:

"Dude, Jaebeom, I don’t want to give you false hope, but Youngjae spent most of his time with me saying he wanted to see everyone again… and especially you. He insisted a lot on your name."

Jaebeom really didn't want to raise his hopes too high. He was fine with the younger seeing him only as a friend really. But Jackson’s words, coupled and strengthened by Mark’s, may have started a light and flying feeling in his stomach. Youngjae had missed him. Maybe nearly as much as he had missed the Hufflepuff. And really, the signs he thought he read or invented in his letters were maybe real signs. Maybe Youngjae was opening up a little bit more to him. He saw the saddened eyes the younger gave him, when his parents came to collect him, after the weekend they all spent together at Jackson’s house, at the very beginning of the summer holiday. Every two days, he would receive a owl with a letter long worth of what Youngjae had done and how he felt and he never failed to end his letters with a “I miss you much. Can’t wait to start school again to see you everyday”. And every letters never failed to make Jaebeom giddy. He was really a pining fool in love.

 

Even though they joined back Hogwart again, the situation didn’t seem like it was getting any better. Jaebeom was still desperately pining after Youngjae and the last one did always seem as obvious as before:

"I mean, he let got of Bambam’s hands directly but didn’t let go of mine until we reached the castle. It was so nice, Mark, he kept holding tightly to it, squeezing it from time to time. And last week, when we studied together, I caught him staring at me three more times than usual."

Mark was starting to have a headache. He had barely won his first Quidditch match of the season, getting his revenge on the Ravenclaws, slept a little less than three hours after celebrating in the Gryffindor common room, and had two hours of Charms on a Saturday morning. The last thing he wanted to hear, was Jaebeom talking about how soft Youngjae’s hand had felt in his, and how his cheeks took a pretty pink color when he realized he had been holding the older’s hand since the beginning:

"Bambam believes he just needs a kind of electrochoc before he finally sees how much in love with him I am."

"He sure is the only one in this fucking school to not know", Mark mumbled.

"I’m sorry."

"Listen, Jae, it’s not that I don’t want to hear about Youngjae’s perfect everything but."

"How you doing the both of you?!", Jackson exclaimed, meeting his two friends, followed closely by a pouting Jinyoung, still not processing his House’s loss.

"Here comes a bigger headache."

"What are you doing?"

"Jaebeom was explaining to him that Youngjae didn’t let go of his hand yesterday."

"Oh, to you too."

"I guess he told you both about it too."

"During the whole Herbology lecture. He was talking so much I nearly said Youngjae when the professor asked me for what use Snargaluff pods were famous for", Jinyoung explained, visibly pissed.  

"That would have been hilarious."

"For you, Wang."

"Anyways!", Jaebeom exclaimed, suddenly wanting to change the subject.

Mark silently listened to his friends arguing about the situation, Jackson trying to hit the Slytherin about some “adult wisdom”, while Jinyoung looked like he thoroughly enjoyed the situation his best friend was in. To ignore his ridiculous friends, the quieter of them all tried to think about what he learnt that week and what homeworks were left for him to do (even though they would have to wait Sunday and a full night of rest). Until something clicked inside his head:

"Wait, Bambam said Youngjae needed something to trigger him right? To realize how you feel and how he feels."

"Where you’re going Mark?", asked Jinyoung, genuinely curious about his friend idea.

"Well, you see, Slughorn taught us a little bit about Amortentia."

"The powerful love filter? I’m not making Youngjae fall in love with me by force like that, Mark, it would be awful."

"Why would Slughorn even teach you about Amortentia? That’s fucked up man."

"Will you please let me finish? Anyways, he told us the smell of that potion is the smell that makes you think about the person you’re attracted to. I could concoct some and make him smell. It’ll probably have the smell of books or strawberry I don’t know and then he’ll see his true feeling for you…"

"That’s not so bad actually…"

"Could you please make Yugyeom smell it too. Or Bambam I don’t know, one of them so they can get together also. I can’t take of Bambam’s bullshit anymore", complained Jackson.

"Fine, and it will seem more natural."

"For when do you think the potion will be ready?" Jaebeom asked.

"Someone is eager", teased Jinyoung.

"I can manage for next Hogsmeade visit I guess. So three weeks."

"Should we tell Bambam about this?"

"Why not? It will help him in his Yugyeom situation and he is the better to know about Youngjae and his thoughts."

"Hey! I’m close to Youngjae too!", Jackson wasn’t having it.

"Has he ever talked about Jaebeom with you?"

"Yeah… I mean, as much as any of you but…"

"So, Bambam in the confidence as well."

"Yes clever choice."

"Mission getting Yugyeom and Youngjae to open their eyes, on!"

It was going to be a rough few weeks. 

 

*

 

Honestly Jaebeom didn’t really know what he expected from that supposed perfect plan. It was doomed to be a total shitshow. Nobody talked further about it, apart maybe from Yugyeom and Bambam:

"I don’t know how this is possible but they managed to make my life even more impossible by going out together."

Jinyoung was rubbing his temple with an annoying look, complaining for the nth time these past weeks. Christmas came and rolled by too quickly for everyone’s liking. Especially since the newly official couple “Yugbam” had decided to be even more extra as a couple. Driving their older friend (and more particularly Jinyoung and Mark) absolutely crazy. Since December, Bambam had nearly received five Bludgers sent by Mark, when he watched Gryffindor’s training. Yugyeom, on his own, had driven Jinyoung so mad, he nearly got sent back home. And it was barely February:

"I wish I didn’t bring that Amortentia to the Three Broomsticks back then. Would have saved us a lot of problems."

Jaebeom just slightly smile at his friends despair. Jackson wasn’t so much affected by the couple, as they just kept harassing him the same way as before. And Jaebeom well… he suspected a intervention from a certain Hufflepuff, one year younger than him, in the fact that Yugbam didn’t try to rile him so much, compared to the other ones:

"I give them six more weeks, Mark. Before the reality of OWL’s fall on them. Six more weeks and we will be safe from them."

"I’m not sure I can handle six more weeks of them."

This time, Jaebeom laughed loudly, feeling the pure despair in his friends’ voice:

"What’s so funny, Beomie?"

Youngjae suddenly appeared behind him, a hand on his broad shoulders and a smiley face, with eyes half hidden by his bangs:

"Mark and Jinyoung keep complaining about Yugbam. Bambam nearly got hit by another Bludger… again", Jackson explained, not lifting up his head from where he was reviewing his Bird Conjuring charms.

"How do you handle them most of the time?"

"Youngjae ignores them. And that’s something you should start doing the both of you", Jackson finally raised his head, his face serious with his glasses on.

"I don’t always ignore them, Jacks. Sometimes I get back at them."

Youngjae simply took the sit free next to Jaebeom, smiled at him and took his strawberry milk before drinking in it:

"What are you doing?", the Hufflepuff asked.

"I have an homework in Potion to do. We have to pre study Polyjuice potion for next week."

"Uhm…"

Jinyoung, Mark and Jackson silently exchanged a look, slightly getting further from Youngjae and Jaebeom having a conversation about Polyjuice. Seemingly in their own words, the two talked and talked about things and stuffs, until Youngjae remembered he also had some homework to do:

"You have to update your dream diary?"

"I know some students think it’s bullshit and everything but it’s the last year we have divination and… I kind of like it."

"You’ve always been a dreamer Jae."

The elder raised his hand to get the younger’s bang out of his eyes, in a soft gesture of his fingers: 

"When are you going to cut that off, Jae, I bet you can’t see anything underneath all this hair."

"I have a strong hairline Jaebeom."

"Shut up…"

The Hufflepuff laughed as discreetly as he could, realizing there were other students actually studying close to them:

"I actually dreamt about it the other night."

"About what? My recessive hairline?"

"No", Youngjae chuckled a little bit louder this time. "About cutting my bangs. I’m not sure how to interpret it. I also saw myself with hair a little bit longer. But without any bangs this time…"

"Uhm…, Jaebeom seemed to pause a few seconds, daydreaming while still playing with the younger’s hair. I can picture you with that."

"I’ll do that if I still have hair on my head after the OWL’s."

It was Jaebeom’s turn to chuckle this time. He finally stopped playing with Youngjae’s hair and cut himself even closer to the younger, trying to pick at his dream diary:

"Go ahead. What did you dream last night?"

"I dreamt about."

Youngjae opened his diary to the next unwritten page. He took Jaebeom’s pen, looked at him with some challenged look in his eyes and try to concentrate on what he was writing, even though the whole of Jaebeom’s left side was glued to his right side:

"I dreamt about", he repeated, writing the words on the blank page." Hogsmeade. And snowy streets. Two colors."

"What colors?"

Jaebeom was hanging at his every word, looking at his face and only his face. It nearly destabilised him, but he quickly got his words back:

"Some green and some orange."

"Keep going."

"I dreamt about warmth even though it was snowing and…"

"And?"

"Of a smell."

"What smell?"

Now, Jaebeom’s face was just a few centimeter away from Youngjae’s. The tension could be felt in the whole table they were sitting at, Jinyoung, Mark and Jackson totally abandoning their homework to watch their two friends:

"Strawberry milk."

The Hufflepuff wasn’t looking at the carnet anymore, writing the words only by watching the Slytherin in the eye:

"The best smell."

"Definitely."

"Aeuhm."

Jackson suddenly reminded the two love birds they were in a public space and some insistent glances were on them. Mark gave him a light blow in the ribs, telling him to shut up. But the magic of the moment was already broken:

"Most of my dreams don’t mean anything anyways. But at least I keep my dream diary updated and I don’t dream about embarrassing things, like Bambam."

Jaebeom pulled a little bit away, avoiding Youngjae’s gaze for now, concentring again on his potion homework. The two decided to go back to studying again, having a lot of homework as their fifth and sixth years passed by. They knew February would be the last month of relative calm. After March, they would have to work even harder on their exam and for the youngers, their OWL’s. 

After one hour or so, more of working, Youngjae decided he had enough and needed a good shower to relax his muscle and his brain. He announced he would probably eat some snack before going to bed, too tired to come from Hufflepuff’s dorm to the hall again at dinner time. He bid his friends goodbye and told Jackson to join him by the fire before joining the dinner banquet. When he was going, an idea popped inside Jaebeom’s head and before the younger was too far, he half screamed:

"Jae, wait!"

He stopped in his tracks and turned over to the voice calling for him:

"Bambam told me him and Yugyeom had a date next Saturday at Hogsmeade. If you don’t already have plans, what about spending the afternoon with me?"

"Sure. Meet me in the hall at two."

And he turned back to the door, disappearing in the hallway leading to the dungeons and Hufflepuff common room:

"Well it was that easy."

Of course, the other three, who hadn’t missed one second of what previously happened between the two:

"You better ask him out officially Saturday, Beomie", stated Mark.

"I won’t handle one more minute of that tension", smiled Jinyoung.

"You heard that Beomie? He dreamt of you last night."

"Will you all shut your mouth, just this time."

An uproar laugh could be heard from their part of the table, while the Slytherin tried to hide the blush on his cheeks, and to calm the butterfly in his stomach. 

Later that evening, as he was resting on one of Slytherin’s common room cough, Bambam sat in his stretched leg, with a wide grin on his face. And that only meant trouble in the younger’s vocabulary:

"You didn’t hear it from me, but Youngjae thinks this Saturday is a good timing for asking you out or you asking him out, both works."

"I was planning on it anyways."

"Great! Now you know what you have to do. Don’t fuck this up Lim Jaebeom."

He was about to retort something when a second year walked in, coming from outside, just ten minutes after the curfew:

"Hey, where do you come from little punk?"

Bambam, as his quality of prefect, jumped from his older friend leg to question him and having to take points from his House. Jaebeom sighed. This week will be long.

 

*

 

The weather was a little nicer than the last time they went to Hogsmeade. It as a sunny afternoon, and even though it was still cold, wandering around the streets, bathing in the February sun was still nice. Especially for Jaebeom, as he hadn’t let go of Youngjae’s hand ever since they departed from Hogwart, just a little bit over two hours ago. The duo had started with Zonko’s, because Jackson had commissioned Youngjae to bring back some stuffs to prank Yugyeom and Bambam with. Then, they went to HoneyDukes to stockpile some snacks and eat a popsicle. Then, they drunk a Butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks, close to the fireplace, feeling warm for more reason than the fire bruning next to them. Now, they were slowly making their way back to Hogwart, the blue sky taking some nice orangey pink colors for the late Winter afternoon. Youngjae still hadn’t finished his popsicle, and for a moment, the sound of him licking it was the only sound between them. After spending most of the afternoon talking with each other, there was now a comfortable silence. When Youngjae finally ended his popsicle, he made a satisfied sound, happy to have eaten one of his favourite snacks. Somehow, Jaebeom, being suddenly a nervous mess, thought it was a good idea to bring back the last time they were here:

"You know Jae… when you made the flask with the Amortentia fall to the ground, it spreaded on the floor and everyone could smell."

"And what did you smell?"

"Mainly Strawberry milk. But there was the citrus scent of your Muggle shampoo too."

Youngjae stopped one second and Jaebeom couldn’t help but sweat in fear “Was I too forward”. But then the younger started to laugh and now his friend was confused:

"Sorry Beomie you are just so blunt. Is it a Slytherin thing? Makes me think of Bambam who outrightly said chocolate and late hour dew."

"Well it kind of worked for him in the end."

They started to walk again in silence but it wasn’t so comfortable. And Jaebeom was facing a internal panic crisis as Youngjae seemed to even avoid his gaze:

"You want to know what was the second smell, Beomie, Youngjae finally said, nearly agonizing the older."

"What was it?"

"Strawberry milk."

This time Youngjae stopped for good, but held Jaebeom’s look:

"I should have seen it coming really. I was surprised at first but after talking with Bambam, it all made sense."

"What did?"

"I’m pretty sure you were aware of it before me, anyways."

"I like you Youngjae. Like, a lot. A whole lot." Jaebeom simply confessed.

"I know you do."

He gave the older one of his signature smile, melting his heart in pieces. The Slytherin had rarely seen something as beautiful as Youngjae purely smiling to him on the nice winter light and with a reddish blush on his cheeks (even though he didn’t know it was due to the cold, his confession or both). But the Hufflepuff soon took his other hand in his and slightly tip toed to get his mouth at height of the other hear:

"I kind of like you too Beomie. A lot."

Now the older was blushing and it definitely wasn’t because of the cold. But more because of the light kiss Youngjae gave him on the cheek:

"Can I kiss you Beomie?"

"Yes", he blurted out so quickly, even before thinking about it.

And before he could fully comprehend what was happening to him, Youngjae’s lips were on his, the taste of the popsicle still fresh on them. And Jaebeom first thought, before reciprocating the kiss, was how soft Youngjae’s lips were and how perfect they felt on his. And when he was finally able to gain back his physical ability he kissed him back. The kiss started slow and passionate, expressing both their feeling for the other. They let got of each other hand, to grasp at other part of their bodies. Youngjae went for the neck and Jaebeom for the waist. They didn’t know exactly how long they stood there, making out, but they came to a stop to get some breath, even though they didn’t stop any physical contact. Eyes closed, foreheads against each other’s, breathing hard, they didn’t let go, didn’t want to, never wanted to. Inside, Jaebeom was a mess of excitement and one word was going through his mind: “Finally”. Youngjae went for his lips one last time, more for a peck, before laughing and opening his eyes again:

"I guess we are official now."

"Yes. A million times yes."

It was a raw laughter that got to his ears and made him laugh too:

"I’m sorry it took me so much time to realize", Youngjae apologized.

"You are worth waiting. I assure you."

A final giggle escaped him and they let go of each other, their hands still intertwined:

"I can’t believe I just saw that."

"Disgusting."

Two voices, suddenly sounding very annoying to Jaebeom and Youngjae ears came from behind them:

"Were you following us the whole time?", Jaebeom turned back to Yugyeom and Bambam standing a few meters behind them, disgust writing on their face.

"Maybe so."

"I thought you two were on a date?", Youngjae asked, visibly confused by his best friends behavior.

"We were supposed to but ever since the others learnt YOU were going on a date we were sent on a mission to see what was going on", Yugyeom explained.

"I suspected it", the older mumbled, unpleased.

"Anyways…", Bambam started, leaving a pregnant pause, raising awkwardness between the four of them." Damn it was time."

"You better not say anything more Bam, and the both of you better walk either far before of far behind us, to end this special day on a good note."

"But Jinyoung said…", Yugyeom tried to interfere.

"I’ll do a personal report to Jinyoung if I have to, as early as tomorrow morning. You have five minutes to go ahead of us. And don’t try anything silly or every consequences will fall on you tonight Bam."

"We better go, Yugy. I’d rather face a pissed Jinyoung than an angry Jaebeom right now."

The couple went ahead, not without mimicking some kisses to Youngjae’s attention, Yugyeom going as far as throwing multiple hearts in his direction first and then the older’s. Then, they turned around and left Youngjae and Jaebeom alone again:

"I really don’t know how you can handle them daily, Jae."

"Time and habit."

"One thing is sure, the others will pay for that."

"But… I don’t know how I didn’t see them around."

"They probably used some silencing charms to make themselves far more discreet."

"Or we were too immersed into what we were doing to spot them."

"Anyways. It’s getting colder. Let’s go back."

"I feel like we’re in for a lot of teasing. Until at least Easter holidays."

"Easter holidays? You’re optimistic Jae. I say we’re in for the rest of our lives."

And Youngjae blushed a little bit more because, even though their relationship barely started, Jaebeom already saw them together forever and maybe, even more importantly, the seven of them still friends. And it made Youngjae maybe a little less scared about his future.

 

* 

 

Somehow, everything changed, but nothing really did. As predicted, a lot of teasing was directed to them, especially when any kind of PDA was practiced in front of their friends. It’s not that Youngjae and Jaebeom were particularly explicit about their blossoming love, but anything would spark a joke on Bambam’s tongue or a teasing smile from Jinyoung. 

Jackson and Mark were the less annoying, keeping their comments for themselves and more generally minding their own business. It was probably due to their busy schedules. Mark, as the Gryffindor captain and trying to follow the hardest courses to become Auror, was overworking himself most of the time, sometimes worrying his friends. Jinyoung therefore spent a lot of time with him, trying to get him to take care of himself. Jackson himself was on a tight schedules, balancing studying and Quidditch training. It was April already, and the two teams in run for the win were Hufflepuff and Gryffindor. Mark promised himself to win this year to let his victorious place to someone else and pause his Quidditch practicing to have a more peaceful and less stressing last year at Hogwart. Even though Bambam was slightly frustrated Slytherin didn’t do that good (and simultaneously lost a bet to Jackson) but he was still adamant Gryffindor would be the winning team, especially with the talented seeker they had, aka his boyfriend.

For the most part, Youngjae and Jaebeom were allowed to publicly displayed any of their affection only when they were just the both of them. Sure, a few light kisses were exchanged when they bumped into each other in a hallway or at the end of a lecture, and they never failed to hold hands whenever they walked together, but the place they could truly expressed how they felt, stayed the bibliotheque. 

Firstly, it was a familiar place for them, and where they already spent most of their time together, even before being a couple. But there, at a table hidden between two rows of bookshelves, a bunch of papers and notes in front of them, sitting next to each other instead of face to face, they could cuddle all they wanted, steal some kisses and exchange loving gazes. No one would come at them with witty comments or fakely annoyed look. It was just the two of them, in their bubbles:

"You didn’t tell me about your meeting with Chourave."

It was April, the nice weather was slowly coming back to Hogwart (and with it a massive pollen invasion, making Youngjae groggy most of the time). But the exams were slowly creeping closer and closer, to a point where even Bambam and Yugyeom started worrying about it. It was their last week at Hogwart before the two weeks break for Easter. The group of friends already had something planned at Bambam’s family secondary cottage, at least for the first week end, and honestly the youngers were looking for it more than never, feeling oppressed in all their studying and reviewing for their OWL’s. Youngjae, the day before, had a meeting his house director, professor Chourave, to examine his results and talk a little bit more about his orientation:

"Have you told her about what you told me?", Jaebeom further asked.

Youngjae only nodded, remembering the discussion he had with his professor. The older sensed him retrieving inside his own mind and he kissed the crown of his head, trying to get him back to reality:

"Tell me all about it."

Jaebeom had the same kind of discussion with Slughorn and McGonagall the year prior. They had concluded he would probably keep studying after his NEWT’s, probably Magical Creatures, because he was so fond of them, and why not becoming a Magizoologist. Youngjae well… he didn’t really have a particular idea in his head:

"Well… we talked about the subjects I likes the most, the ones where I lacked. I told her I liked Divination, even though it was more as an hobby than anything serious. We talked about herbology as I top in this subject and a little bit at Magical Creature Care and Defence Against the Dark Arts. She thinks I’ll nail the OWL’s in theses subjects and can follow the NEWT level courses newt year."

"Uhm…"

Jaebeom listened attentively to his boyfriend’s word, a hand playing softly in his hair, like he loves to do:

"She asked if I had an idea of what I wanted to do. I told her… I told her about what you told me to say. About me not being sure of following a magical path after this. She told me I wasn’t forced to, but seeing as I technically stopped the Muggle school in middle school, it will be complicated. No impossible though, she told me it wasn’t rare to see some Muggle born wizards going back to Muggle world after their studies here. She talked about a special program of rehabilitation to be able to keep track with college and everything. Then she asked if I had an idea about a specific Muggle job. And I told about my love for music, and how I wanted to help people around me to get better. I told her about my dream to become a music therapist, as soon as I heard this career existed. She asked me if I kept dreaming about it, if it was my final ambition. I explained her I kind of stopped thinking about it. That when I joined Hogwart I more or less gave up the idea. She asked why. And… I didn’t know what to answer her. And she started to talk about all the possibilities offered to me. I could care and cure many people and creatures if I persevered in theses subjects. I could still become a kind of therapist in the wizard world. I could find a way to combine my wizard knowledge to music and… I think she’s right. I know there isn’t much wizard therapist around but… Wizards aren’t exempt of any mental illnesses."

"They sure aren’t."

"I could make things change, I don’t know."

"So, you just have to nail Herbology, Magical Creature Care and Defence Against the Dark Arts."

"She says if I want to become a polyvalent and accomplished therapist I should also attend to NEWT level Potion, so in priority, Herbology and Potion, and if I can Defence Against the Dark Arts, because it’s always important."

"Potion will be the hardest for you, but I know you can do it baby."

One of the new things that brought this relationship to their ancient friendship, more than display of affection, was the affective nicknames they both loved. Youngjae didn’t really settle for one yet, but Jaebeom kept on using baby when he was referring to Youngjae, directly to him. The first few times, it never failed to flutter the younger one, but now he was used to it. The Hufflepuff kept calling his boyfriend Beomie, because it sounded nice and he didn’t want to seem too whipped or lost for him either (even though he clearly was). Maybe when it was just the two of them, an occasional “love” or “babe” would escape him. But certainly nothing in front of Yugyeom or Bambam, because they would always make fun of him for the next two hours or so. Most of the time, Jaebeom wanted to get back at them, as they also were a couple among their group of friends, but nothing would get to them, mostly because they weren’t showing any PDA and if they were, the teasing never reached them. Youngjae hoped one day, he will hit that state of being unbothered just like them. But until then he was fine with them hiding their affection in the old bibliotheque:

"I’m just… scared of my anxiety during the test. Every year, I work regularly and I’m assiduous but everytime, good old anxiety comes back and tells me I won’t be able to do that, and I don’t know my charms well enough and…"

"You’ll be ok, Jae, really. I know OWL’s can seem daunting but you are a good student, you barely lack in any subject and you’re working hard. You’ll nail the writing and practice test of every OWL, I know it."

"Thank you Beomie."

He kissed his cheek as a thanks and smiled at him:

"You’ll be here though… If I’m too stressed."

"Always."

But something in his head, told him that no, Jaebeom wasn’t going to always be here. Next year would be his last year. And it was a scaring thought Youngjae tried to ignore as best as he could. He still had one year and a half more with all of his friends at Hogwart, but yet here he was, his mind already providing him with worries about not being to see Jackson every day, not being able to eat with Jinyoung and Mark every evening and not being able to talk to Jaebeom at every moment of the day he wanted. Sometimes, he hated himself for seeing so much in the future, even forbidden him to live the moment fully:

"Stop overthinking Jae. Everything will be alright."

Maybe his brain was overworking with all of his predictions. The older of their gang graduating didn’t mean anything more than a full scholar year spent sending letters and seeing each other during the holiday. They will overcome that. And once Bambam, Yugyeom and Youngjae also graduate, they can start their adult lives all together.

Sometimes, he thought depending so much on his friends was a little unhealthy, but they really were his sole constant in his life, maybe even more than his parents. When he had received his letters, five years ago, he had panicked so hard. Of course, he knew something wasn’t normal with him, because he had shown some small sign of magic ever since he could remember, but his mother always managed to rationalize everything. So his mind could be at peace. But his world turned upside down when he got the letter. Hopefully, his parents fully understood when McGonagall came to visit, just a few days after. It was common for Muggle Born wizard, apparently. And in just a few weeks, he was immersed in a whole new worlds, that made him dizzy with all its extravagant and surprising sides. It was maybe a little too much for him. Until he met Bambam. Bambam that made everything better with his non judgemental personality. Bambam that understood some stuffs Youngjae discovered for the first time, could amaze him. Bambam would never laughed at his face. He could have, on so many occasions. On the first year, Youngjae was dazed by every single thing in Hogwart, while Bambam was simply accustomed to it all. Bambam was in his element, Youngjae wasn’t. And it was only thanks to him and their 5 other friends that he could now call Hogwart his home:

"Even when we won’t be here, we’ll still be close. All of us."

And maybe, it was one of the reason why it clicked so well between them, and nothing really changed and really, Youngjae should have seen this coming. Jaebeom could read him like an open book. And he was so thankful most of the time, their relationship didn’t need any words, just like their friendships hadn’t need so much words.

 

*

 

Jaebeom didn’t know his throat could hurt like that. He didn’t know his leg could shake to the point where he barely could stay standing without tripping. He didn’t know his ears could produce such a ugly sound as a constant hiss, without him minding it. Maybe because it was one of the time he let go of himself the most, leaving behind all his worries. It didn’t happen too much, but every times were memorable. Holding onto Youngjae’s arms, close to Bambam and Jinyoung walking besides them, the four of them were making their way back to Hogwart, after watching the last Quidditch match of the year:

"I feel bad for Jackson", Youngjae simply said.

"Who cares about Jackson feeling, have you seen Mark’s face? Hufflepuff will have all the time in the world to win next year!", Jinyoung exclaimed.

"Who cares about Mark? Have you seen my man, Kim Yugyeom, catching that damn Golden Snitch?", Bambam nearly screamed.

It had been one of the best match they witnessed. Until the very end, the two teams were tied, and Yugyeom barely caught the Golden Snitch before the Hufflepuff seeker. Jaebeom had screamed and jumped at every goal, and when finally their younger friend had made his team win, he forgot about the team not being his and of Jackson also wanting to have the trophy. Tomorrow, he’ll feel a little bad, the same way he felt bad for Mark and Yugyeom the year prior, but for now, adrenaline was still running high in his veins, as if he had been a player among the Gryffindor team: which he clearly wasn’t:

"You were so carefree tonight, Beomie. I like that side of yours."

Youngjae was holding on tightly on his boyfriend’s waist, careful to not make him fall and carrying them both. The situation was quite funny to him, having rarely seen the older Slytherin like that. 

Jaebeom took a good look at his boyfriend after his remark. Although he had a difficult week right before the match, and was working harder than before since coming back from Easter holidays, he didn’t look so tired. His skin was glowing more and more with the comeback of the nice weather and the sun. He was spending more time outdoors, giving his skin this natural glowing tone. Moreover, he went to the hairdresser with Jackson, and got rid of his long fringe for an undercut. Jaebeom absolutely loved this style on him and from the moment they saw each other again at King’s Cross, he wasn’t able to keep his hand to himself:

"You’re just so beautiful Jae baby."

He just felt the need to express his thoughts at loud, creating a small blush on the first concerned cheeks. Making him even more attractive if it was possible:

"Look at that Bam, the sap is back again."

"Ew."

But Jaebeom didn’t mind, he did a great job at ignoring them. Why concentrating on his obnoxious friends when he could give all of his attention to his blushing boyfriend and his perfect feature and pretty mouth he actually wanted to kiss:

"Can I kiss you baby?"

They still didn’t share a kiss before asking beforehand and in all honestly, Jaebeom didn’t imagine any other scenario. Having Youngjae shyly nodding or outrightly asking, with no inbetween, never failed to bring many butterflies in his stomach. But tonight, it was a good mix of both:

"Of course you can Beomie."

So he did just that, stopping their movement, letting Jinyoung and Bambam walking further. The kiss was rather innocent, because, as much as Jaebeom wanted to kiss him while running a wild hand through his hair (that he liked so MUCH) until they had swollen lips and were out of breath, it wasn’t the place nor the time. It would came, probably at their table in the bibliotheque, after a whole afternoon of studying, with their minds numb to anything that wasn’t THEM. But until then, they had to keep it family friendly:

"Come on, stop being such saps and move on! I’m freezing my ass!", Bambam voice came from afar, full of complaining.

"We should probably keep going."

Youngjae still had his eyes closed and Jaebeom wanted that picture of his boyfriend enclosed in his mind, in a place where even the worse sickness or spell could not erase it:

"Yeah, we probably should."

The adrenaline had withdrawn from his organism, and he was fully controlling his body again. More free with his movement, he took Youngjae’s hand in his and joined Bambam and Jinyoung:

"We’ll have to be patient and comprehensive with Jackson", started Youngjae. "He won’t take it easily, just like Mark and Yugyeom."

"Yeah sure", Bambam was truthfully disinterested in Jackson right now, only thinking about his boyfriend.

"Make him understand it’s not the end of the world and he’ll have another chance next year."

"Sometimes, I don’t know who you are more whipped for, Jae. Jackson or Jaebeom", laughed Jinyoung.

Youngjae blushed again, and Jaebeom just rolled his eyes:

"It’s not because you act like a prick to me Jinyoung, than any best friends that care about their well-beings are “whipped”."

"Aw, look at that Jinyoung, you’ve offended him."

"I might have strike a chord here."

They laughed louder and Youngjae held on tighter to his boyfriend hand:

"Don’t listen to them Beomie."

"I didn’t plan to."

"We should stay unbothered by their behavior and they will stop naturally."

"Elementary."

They laughed some more on their way back, the night still young for them, as Youngjae would be waiting for a defeated Jackson in Hufflepuff common room and Jaebeom would probably spend the night dreaming about him and being annoyed by that hiss inside his hears.

 

*

 

Exam period was so close, the students could very much taste it on their mouth. Suddenly, the pressure around them became thicker and every lecture was spent in an absolute concentration. Bibliotheque saw an increasing number of students every day and Jaebeom and Youngjae even had to share their table with their friends. Mostly Bambam and Yugyeom, whose OWL’s reality came back after them. After the Quidditch finale, Bambam birthday rolled by and suddenly, they were one month away from the beginning of their OWL’s. Everyone was rooting for them, in their own way. Jinyoung had stayed up until the curfew with them in the Great Hall to help them with some charms and history. Mark and Jaebeom ended the work when they were forced to get back to their common room. Jackson had planned a healthy schedule, with a variety of ailments they should eat (mostly organics), a few physical exercises they should practice between notes reviewing and a tight sleeping schedule to be sure they had the eight hours of sleep they needed to be at their best.

Oddly enough, when the first writing tests came by, Youngjae was relaxed enough to not panic in the middle of the Great Hall. He was confident in his knowledge and he hoped he would keep this confidence for the spell casting and practical. He could always count on the support from his friends, and they seemed to be an unbreakable block, even more than before. The time outside of exam was spent just the seven of them, relaxing together and trying to get their minds out of the worries. It worked so good, Youngjae barely believed it when he walked outside of his last exam for the year:

"I can’t believe we made it through it all."

Bambam looked as physically and mentally exhausted as if he had run a two days marathon straight. Lying on his boyfriend’s chest, on the grass under a tree, he had his legs on Youngjae's stretched ones:

"My Mom better pay me a VIP place at the Quidditch world cup, after all the efforts I put in those exams."

The Hufflepuff smiled softly at his best friend, closing his eyes as if he was about to sleep. Then, he exchanged a glance with Yugyeom and both understood what they were thinking about. Youngjae started massaging his legs, while Yugyeom gave him a head massage:

"Uhm…" was the only thing that could come out of the Slytherin’s mouth.

Youngjae suddenly took an exaggerated voice and said:

"Look at that hard working young boy, giving everything he could in his potion exam."

"Stop laughing at me, you dirty…"

Bambam could not finished his sentence, his words stifled by the bright and loud sound of Youngjae’s laugh. He couldn’t even find it in himself to say something to him, too happy to witness this phenomenon:

"You know what I am looking for now?", asked Yugyeom.

"Week end at the cottage!!", screamed the two best friends in unisson.

This time, it was Yugyeom characteristic laugh that filled the air between them, and he was soon followed by the other two. They were able to breath once again, getting ready for the busy holidays waiting for them and the busy next year ahead of them. But for the moment, they allowed themselves to live the now and not care about the future. The week after, they would have their result, would know what courses they could take on NEWT’s level, and where they could orient their career. But for now, they were three teenagers, fifteen to sixteen years old, enjoying a good day of sun, in the park of their magical castle.

 

*

 

The beach was quiet except for the noises of a group of teenagers, having been there since the beginning of the afternoon. By now, the sun was setting and falling below the horizon, giving the Manche, some nice colors Youngjae liked so much. The day had been beautiful, weather like. So nice, actually, the group of 7 friends had bath in the sea, playing a good hour in it, before going back to firm ground, and started playing on the sand. The Muggle Born and Half Blood of the gang learnt to the pure blood wizards how to play soccer, and badminton. They had ran on the sand a good part of the afternoon, tiring them and making them hungry. Different snacks had been packed, and of course, nobody forgot the precious Strawberry milk. Strawberry milk Jaebeom was now savouring, comfortably sitting against Youngjae’s chest:

"Will you give me some, babe?"

Youngjae had played and ran all day. His hair was messy, a combination of the wind and the salt. He didn’t smell like his cologne and natural scent anymore, but a little bit of sweat and hot sand. And he was warm, his chest pressed against Jaebeom’s upper back and broad shoulder. Jaebeom silently answered his request, by lifting up his hand with the bottle in it:

"Are you comfortable enough Beomie?"

Sure, his position might seem a little bit unpleasant at first sight, and maybe, his back muscles were screaming at him to get in a straighter position, but Youngjae was just too much of a good seat/pillow, he didn't want to move. So he shook his hand as a response, and Youngjae didn’t push further. Afar, Yugyeom, Mark and Jinyoung ended their soccer game, without any rules other than making the other fall and stealing the ball. Bambam and Jackson were arguing about what was left to eat, and if it wasn’t better to go back to the cottage to eat dinner:

"All we ate today were snacks and sweets!", Jackson wasn’t having it.

"Yeah, and we spent the whole afternoon exercising some ways! Leave it alone just for today Jacks."

Jackson rarely admitted defeat, so he started to pout, rather adorably, and Bambam finally said in a sigh:

"I don’t think any of us will be up until too late tonight so… we stay a little bit, if anyone wants to eat some more snacks, they can, and then we’ll go back to the cottage and you can eat all the organic food in the house."

"Alright. That’s a plan."

When the moon was finally settled, the seven of them were grouped around a fire, induced by incendio, courtesy of Mark, and recalling memories of their three years together at Hogwart. Jaebeom had to abandon his seat because his back couldn’t take it anymore, but now he had Youngjae’s hand on his thigh and he wasn’t complaining either. When the younger recalled a particularly funny or happy memory, he would squeeze the flesh under his fingers, fluttering the older. As time passed, he got closer, until he had his head on his shoulder:

"I really like your hair baby, have I ever told you?"

"At least a good hundred times, Beomie. I know by now."

"You always deserve to be pampered in compliments. My talented, handsome boyfriend."

"Will you stop it? You’re going to make me blush."

"Top ten student of his year. Got into NEWT level class in potion, herbology and Defence against the Dark Arts. A wizard genius."

"I love you."

It was the first time he ever said it, and it struck Jaebeom for a good second. Until he realized the words that actually came out of his mouth:

"You don’t have to say it back now, but yeah, I keep it for myself ever since the beginning of OWL’s, because I didn’t think it was the moment and…"

"I love you too baby."

"I know I’m a little too anxious sometimes and I can’t get to enjoy the now as much as I want to, but I decided I didn’t care anymore. I have you and I have them and I don’t need anything more. Next year will be the last of us together like that, but I am sure there will be many more years to come of our friendships and our relationship. We’re still young but I love you and I know that no matter what I’ll always will. We’ll wait for each other one year and after, nothing will separate us."

It was Jaebeom’s time to smile brightly as his words. For the first time, he kissed him without asking for the permission first, but after Youngjae’s little speech, he felt like it wasn’t needed. So he gently took his boyfriend’s face between his hands and gently pecked his lips. It was so pure, in the moment, their love burning just like the fire that warned their bodies:

"I’ll always be there for you."

The rest had kind of more left them their intimacy, noticing something important was happening between the two. But Bambam finally broke the silence with an energetic sentence throw at the fire:

"To this year and the many more to come."

When Jaebeom got to sleep that night, it was in the comfort of some duvet put on the floor in the living room that overlooked the sea and the beach. He was on his back, watching the whiteness of the ceiling, illuminated by the light of the moon coming from the open bay window. The distant sound of the waves had lulled most of them to sleep, including Youngjae, sleeping peacefully at Jaebeom’s right side. On his left, and even though he was sleeping on his back also, Jinyoung had managed to tangle one of his leg with one of Jaebeom’s. Next to Youngjae, Yugyeom was gently snoring, Bambam closely near him, using his boyfriend’s arm as a pillow. Mark was close to Jackson, who himself clinged to Jinyoung. It wasn’t perfect to sleep, because of his back pain, but he was happy nonetheless. He had no idea for how long their situation would stay that way, but for now, he was happy. And his last thought before closing his eyes, was that he was very lucky to be surrounded by these people. But Youngjae was right, he should enjoy the now, stop thinking so much about the future. Because no matter what, they’ll stay this way for many more years to come. And nothing could bring more sweet dreams to Jaebeom, on this tender night.

 

_ “To this year and many more to come!” _

**Author's Note:**

> So it's my first ever fic published here. I hope you liked it. I personally enjoyed writing it a lot and I seriously consider writing some more one shots about this AU. Especially Maknae line.
> 
> I apologize for any mistakes I made as English isn't my mother tongue and isn't my proofreader's either :')
> 
> Thank you for reading my one shot :)
> 
> Lots of love.


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